Mango Airlines confirmed on Friday it was investigating a text message allegedly sent by one of its employees to another staff member‚ saying they should not return to work because they are black and HIV positive.

The text message‚ in the form of a screengrab posted on social media‚ comes from someone saved as “Mandy HR Mango” in the recipient’s phonebook.

It has since gone viral.

The message reads: “Mango cannot allow you to work with us‚ you are black and Hiv positive. That is just too much for us.” timeslive

Airline employees may be grounded for three months when diagnosed with HIV

Airline employees who are diagnosed with HIV may be grounded for three months when they are diagnosed.

This is according to the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) guide for aviation medical examiners. (http://www.caa.co.za/Documents/Aviation%20Medicine/Dames%20Guide.pdf)

Mango Airlines confirmed on Friday it was investigating a text message allegedly sent by one of its employees to another staff member‚ saying they should not return to work because they are black and HIV positive. (https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-07-20-you-cant-work-because-youre-black-and-hiv-positive-mango-probes-text-allegedly-sent-to-staffer/ )

The text message‚ in the form of a screengrab posted on social media‚ comes from someone saved as “Mandy HR Mango” in the recipient’s phonebook.

It has since gone viral.

The message reads: “Mango cannot allow you to work with us‚ you are black and Hiv positive. That is just too much for us.”

Mango spokesperson Sergio dos Santos said: “The SMS in question does not align with our values or policies and we can confirm that it’s not an official communication from the company. We will be releasing more information once it is made available.”

According to the CAA’s guidelines‚ employees can return to work when they see a HIV specialist and submit their:•History of infection;•Current and previous symptoms;•History of opportunistic infections or associated illnesses;•History of CD4+ T cell counts;•History of viral load measurements;•Medication history including over-the-counter and alternative medicines; and•Report on the side effects of their medications.

They must undergo these reviews:•Neurological review to assess their reflexes;•Neuropsychological review that includes timed psychomotor tasks and memory tasks requiring attention‚ learning‚ active monitoring and retrieval of information.•Psychiatric if clinically indicated; and•Cardiological if clinically indicated. dispatchlive